Danganronpa FF
by CinderFallOfHaven
Summary: After waking up in an unfamiliar environment, Narumi Yokokawa is suddenly thrust into a world of mystery and crime when she and her new classmates are told to kill each other to escape. Now Narumi needs to uncover the mystery of the new place while also uncovering what the "New Hope Program" is.
1. Prologue

**Introducing the alternative to Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy! I've been waiting to do this for a few months so that I could time this well with Danganronpa V3, and it might just work out that way. At the end of every chapter (or in this case, prologue) I'm going to post a link in the REVIEWS that will allow the readers to choose which characters are in the Free Time during the Daily Life. Happy reading!**

Prologue

The wind howled through an open window and blew cold air on a girl who was asleep on a bed. She shuddered and woke up, clutching her arms, attempting to find heat. She noticed the window was open, and got up and closed it. She laid back down on the bed when she finally started to question her situation.

"Why am I in my clothes?" She sat up and looked down at herself. Her bright short-sleeved polo and red skirt were still on her. She stood up and looked in the mirror, her crimson hair was slightly disheveled, but it was nothing that couldn't be managed. She brushed her hair like normal and put her hair in twintails on her shoulders and down to her chest.

She looked down at the floor and saw a note had been slid under the crack below the door. She bent over and picked it up. The note was written in a very childish scrawl that was noticeably annoying, but it was labeled for her: Narumi Yokokawa.

She picked up the note and turned it over to read what was written on it. It said: "Hello, hello! You may already be accustomed to where you are located at right now, but the newly appointed headmaster has made some adjustments to your home. Please arrive in the great hall for more details!"

Without uttering a single word, Narumi opened her door and stepped out into the stone hallway of the dormitory wing. Closing the door behind her, she fully stood in the hallway. She looked up and down the corridor to check to see if anyone else was there, but the entire area was vacant aside from Narumi. She turned on her heel and started walking down the hall towards the stairs. She passed by plenty of her new classmates' rooms and the RA's room before reaching the spiral staircase which was barred from going up. It was too early for her to question anything that was going on just yet and nobody seemed to be in the dorms. She descended the stone stairs where she noticed that every floor on the way down has been blocked off except for the first floor and the basement. After arriving on the first floor, she noticed that the front entrance had plenty of wooden planks nailed on to keep the door shut. Narumi began to feel disturbed by things that her eyes were catching on to.

With her head full of questions, she pushed past the other halls and stood at the door of the great hall. She pressed her hand against the heavy wooden door and shoved it open. Inside, all of her new classmates were waiting. And all of them had the same confused and nervous expressions that Narumi herself wore.

Before she could say anything, one person called out from the crowd, "hey! There's the sixteenth!" And with that, everyone turned their gaze on Narumi. She felt insanely uncomfortable.

"Uh, hello." Narumi said. "I'm Narumi Yokokawa, the Ultimate Manager."

"Nice to meet you, Narumi. My name is Yuno Toyama and I'm the Ultimate Painter." A girl with bright pink hair made her way all the way across the hall to introduce herself. She wore a beige painting smock, a bubblegum pink collared shirt, white shorts, and white slippers. Her hair was put up in a bun to keep the paint out of it. She wore circular glasses that made her electric blue eyes shine brighter than anything else she wore. "Don't worry about everyone else here, they're all just as nervous as you because of that note."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one to get a really odd note. By the way, what's up with the door at the front?" Narumi didn't beat around the bush on this one, she wanted to get an answer on that question as soon as possible.

"Yeah, I wish I could tell you." The Ultimate Painter shook her head and sighed. "I imagine we'll figure that out later, right now I think what should be a priority for you is meeting all the others here. I can help you out a little if you need it. Some of these people are interesting characters, and that's to say the least!" She laughed heartily, and for the first time since she woke up, Narumi felt like there was someone with who could calm her down.

The first person Narumi and Yuno walked up to was a boy sitting near a window, resting his head against the wall. He wore a silver beanie which hid most of his short blonde hair. He had green eyes that reminded Narumi of a leaf, but what was the most peculiar about him was his outfit. He wore a white hoodie and black pants with white socks and black shoes. Yuno was right in saying that some of these people are interesting characters.

"Can I help you?" He spoke bluntly with a feeling of definition.

"Yes, I was wanting to introduce myself seeing as how we're classmates now." Narumi shifted her weight from one foot to the other. His gaze felt intense and made her feel like he was studying her. "My name is Narumi Yokokawa and I'm the Ultimate Manager. What's your name?"

The boy scoffed. "I'm surprised you don't already know. They call a "strategic prodigy" after all." He stood up and Narumi noted that he was a good five inches taller than her. "Anyways. My name is Kazuma Yunogawa and I'm the Ultimate Chess Player."

Narumi stopped for a minute and thought about his name. Now that he had said it, it did sound vaguely familiar. Then it hit her, "Kazuma Yunogawa? That guy that beat all the chess players in the world and even the military is looking into his strategy skills? THAT Kazuma Yunogawa?"

"The one and the same." He smirked. He was greatly enjoyed the praise and it felt disgusting to Narumi. Like she had stroked his ego more than he already had for the longest time. "Well, now that we've met, I'd like to get back to thinking about how to get to work on conquering the "world's smartest AI" in Tokyo. I'm pretty sure I can best it." And with a sense of finality, he went back to his chair and continued what he was doing before Narumi and Yuno walked over to him.

"Alrighty, then. Let's move on to the next person." Yuno steered Narumi away from Kazuma and led her to a girl just a little bit away from him. She had long black hair that almost looked like silk. She had placed a clip near the bottom of the back of her head so that her hair would remain in a straight line. "And this is a very famous person! You will certainly be happy to meet her." The girl had a blue t-shirt and blue jeans. Normal sneakers that could be bought at any store. Nothing about her screamed "ultimate".

The girl blew a bubble with the gum she was chewing and held out her hand. "The name's Tomoe Santo. I'm the Ultimate Director." Pop. Narumi grabbed and shook the girl's hand.

"Whoa, the Ultimate Director? Tomoe Santo? You've made such masterpieces in cinematic history that cinemas worldwide have played each for a solid span of 6 months upon release!" Narumi was almost saddened by how miserable her own ultimate talent turned out to be.

"Yeah, I'm the very girl that would make Miyazaki cry in shame at his own material." She added with a smug expression on her face. "If you even so desire, I could consider penciling you in for an audition for my next hit film. It's going to be a sad movie though, really might just make you cry from reading the script alone." Tomoe shuddered in delight.

"Okay, I'll think about it." Narumi gripped Yuno's hand tight and took her away from the Ultimate Director. "She's a bit…odd."

"I do agree, but she's made so many wonderful pieces you have to allow the girl some quirks." Yuno smiled reassuringly.

The next stop was a boy dressed in a black button up and red pants. His hair was jet black and even his eyes were a handsome black. Something about his eyes made Narumi think he was wearing colored contacts. He wore red sandals that really contrasted the entire outfit. "Hey, there!" Aside from his dark and gloomy appearance, he seemed to be a pretty happy guy. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, we're going around and introducing her because she hasn't met everyone yet." Yuno began.

"Well, then. Let me get to it. I'm Koyomi Ibuki, the Ultimate Actor." He stuck a pose right when he said what his talent was.

"You're an actor, not a model." Yuno told him with a pout. It was obvious she wanted to paint him, but she wanted a person who could better carry themselves.

"You're right, you're right." He scratched the back of his head and laughed. "I'm glad I am an actor. If I couldn't act, then I never would have been able to have the money to attend this amazing boarding school." He looked all around the room. "Especially one inside a castle."

"But, I didn't have to pay any money to attend the school. I just got a letter one day that said I was able to attend because of my ultimate talent." Narumi chimed in. "And being the Ultimate Manager that I am, I archived the letter and I can reference it whenever. The name is Narumi, by the way. Narumi Yokokawa."

"You didn't have to pay?!" Koyomi looked shocked. He looked down at his feet and shuffled away dejected. He had lost the money he had earned from his acting career. Poor guy.

"Let's go meet someone else!" Yuno pulled Narumi away towards the tables. There were two tables that were each laid out with sixteen placemats. One for every student. But Narumi was surprised that a school this large only had sixteen attendants. "Hello again, everyone!" Yuno stopped in front a group of six people that were sitting down towards the end of one table.

"Hey, Yuno. Looks like you brought the last one over her with you." A boy with a plain gray suit sat up and smiled. He had brown hair that had been slicked back with some sort of oil. "I'm Genjo Saitoh and I could represent you in any court as the Ultimate Lawyer if we become friends." He reached out his hand, but she didn't grasp his. "No matter, I'm sure we can still be friends. I'll bet you're just tired from meeting so many new faces." He smiled widely.

"Gods, Genjo. You can be so odd sometimes." The girl sitting next to him was a giant contrast from Genjo's normal suit appearance. The girl had black hair with purple highlights mixed in and put up in an unkempt ponytail. She had deep purple eyes and a couple of piercings below her lip. She wore a galaxy tank top and two black bra straps were visible. She had black cutoff jean shorts and black boots. Everything one would expect from a rebel. "Hey, kid. My name is Setsuko Sakata. I'm the Ultimate Punk Rock Singer." She grinned mischievously. Setsuko's ultimate talent came as no shock to Narumi as Setsuko had the appearance of a punk rock singer. Narumi shifted her glance to the girl sitting across from Setsuko who had music note hair clips keeping long brown bangs out of her face. The girl also had a gray t-shirt and black jeans. "Oh, don't mind her. She's just being a space cadet right now." Setsuko clapped her hands in front of the girl's face and the girl came back down to earth. That was when she noticed that Narumi had arrived and she apologized in an embarrassed manner.

"I'm so sorry! I was thinking of new works. My name is Euiko Shirahata, the Ultimate Guitarist." She smiled weakly as she introduced herself.

"Euiko rarely ever sleeps because she's always thinking of these amazing riffs for our songs." Setsuko leaned across the table and began patting Euiko on the shoulder. "I'm so proud of the songs we've made together!"

"Setsuko, please! You're the one that makes the lyrics and sing them. I just make the rhythm come together." Euiko stated in a manner that felt like she didn't normally take compliments.

"Hush, you." Narumi laughed. Then her eyes fell on the boy sitting next to Euiko and that was examining different leaves.

"Hi, I don't think we've met?" Narumi approached him cautiously.

He looked up and made the same embarrassed expression that Euiko had made when she noticed Narumi's presence. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." He cleared the table and resumed, "my name is Hiroe Ohishi, and I am the Ultimate Botanist." He brushed his blue hair out of his face and smiled at Narumi and she noted that he seemed like a nice person, but got too lost in his work. He wore a green tie-dye shirt which made her wonder what kind of plants he studied, and he wore blue jeans with brown leather shoes. She didn't want to say anything about his appearance, but he didn't look like a successful scientist.

The boy next to Setsuko sat up and yawned. Narumi had just remembered the other two students that were at the table. She walked over to the boy, "hey." She waved at him and he waved back.

"Yo, I just woke up. What's going on?" The boy had a singular black eyepatch that ran over his left eye and stood out among his platinum hair. He wore a green jacket over a brown shirt with black pants. He wore brown boots which his pants tucked into. "Oh, wait. You're the last person to arrive. I'm the Ultimate Marksman, Takumi Okamura. Nice to meet you." Narumi nodded as she agreed with him.

Directly across from him was a girl that nothing really stood out about. She had dirty blonde hair put back in a long braid that was pushed up to her chest. She wore a purple hoodie and a purple miniskirt that barely showed under the hoodie. She also wore purple shoes to complete the get up.

"Hi, I don't believe we've met yet. What's your name?" Narumi leaned over the table to talk to the girl.

"My name is Naomi Nishimoto, and that's all you really need to know about me right now." Naomi gave her a cold look. "Could you go away now?"

Narumi was about to walk away from the table when the Ultimate Punk Rock Singer got her attention. "Hey, you never told us what your name was! We told you ours', you got to pay up!" She was laughing when she spoke, but she was completely serious.

"Oh, my apologies!" Narumi walked back to everyone and curtsied. "My name is Narumi Yokokawa and my talent is being the Ultimate Manager."

"That's cool! We have a manager now! Do you dig music?" Setsuko's eyes shined like stars when she heard Narumi's talent. "I do like music, but I know if I could go with that lifestyle."

"What lifestyle?" Setsuko's tone was borderline hurt and dangerous. Narumi felt if she didn't say anything right then to explain herself, she may have hurt her standings with Setsuko.

"I mean the entire running around the country and even world. It's too much stress for a person like me. My capacity is pretty low and I'm amazed that you can even do it." Narumi hoped that Setsuko would be satisfied with this statement.

Narumi's assumption was correct as Setsuko slumped back into her chair blushing. Since nobody else at the table seemed to desperately need to talk to her, Narumi rejoined with Yuno and went to meet the remaining students.

They approached two girls standing near a window who were animatedly talking. Only once their presence was registered did the two teens turn to greet Narumi and Yuno with warm smiles.

"Hey, hey, Yuno! Who's this new person you brought with you?" One of the two girls stood forward. She wore a red top and a white jacket with red athletic shorts. She had dark brown hair and the ends were pinned up behind her head with a clip. She wore red and white sneakers. "My name is Seika Toujou, and I'm your resident Ultimate Cheerleader!" She hopped once to give more expression behind what she said.

"And don't forget about me!" It was obvious from her attire what the other girl's talent was. Her uniform was an aqua blue with royal blue ends and navy blue athletic shorts. She had short blue hair to match with her uniform. And she had blue cleats on even though she was inside. "I'm Kyoko Morita, the Ultimate Soccer Player!" She grinned widely.

"Well it's nice to meet you both!" Narumi smiled as warmly as she could. "My name is Narumi Yokokawa and I'm the Ultimate Manager."

"Manager?" Kyoko's eyes lit up like Setsuko's did when Narumi mentioned her talent. "Do you like sports a lot? Are you a team manager? Maybe you could help me train?" Seika put her hand on Kyoko's shoulder to slow her down.

"Hold up, Kyoko. Don't want to scare her away with your game of thirty questions." Seika smiled as she spoke. "It was nice to meet you, Narumi. I hope we can be good friends while we're here!" Seika smiled warmly as Yuno and Narumi walked away from the two sports girls.

"They certainly are hyperactive."

Yuno laughed, "they definitely are. But they're more normal than most of the people here."

"LET GO OF MY ARM, JACKASS!" A voice erupted from across the great hall.

"For example," Yuno referenced the owner of the voice. He was a tall boy with short black hair, no doubt was shaved. He wore a blue camouflage uniform that navy blue combat boots. He was glaring at a shorter boy who was on the floor nursing a bruise on his cheek where the taller boy had punched him. The shorter boy had long white hair that was tied back in a warrior's wolf tail style, and he was dressed in a butler's suit and had nice dressy black shoes. "Gentlemen, please! You don't need to fight!" Yuno ran in-between the two boys. "Now, what seems to be the issue?"

"He grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go, so I used my fist to punch him!"

"I grabbed his arm because he tossed a wrapper on the floor instead of a garbage can. It was unsightly. Of course, I cleaned it up, but I wanted to tell him not to do it again…"

"Oh, shut the fuck up you pansy!"

"Please stop shouting!"

"Excuse me, Yuno. I need to get past you." Another boy had appeared with a first aid kit. He wore a lab coat over a green t-shirt and khakis. His red hair was very messy and his eyes looked sunken as if he hadn't slept in a long time. He stopped right in front of Narumi and looked at her. "Oh, I don't believe we have been introduced." The boy shifted the first aid kit under his left arm and held out his right. "My name is Shigemori Noda, the Ultimate Doctor." He smiled uneasily as if the smile itself would make him pass out.

"My name is Narumi Yokokawa, the Ultimate Manager." She shook his hand politely and then looked at the other two boys. "Who are they?"

"Ah, well. The one on the floor is Taro Kunda, the Ultimate Servant."

"That explains why he was a bit upset about the wrapper on the floor."

"A bit?" The taller boy turned towards Narumi and Shigemori. "He was about to pull my arm out of socket about a little cough drop wrapper!"

"It was littering! I couldn't stand by and let someone trash up a place. My talent is to make the master of the house happy, and if I cannot keep the goddamn place clean then what good am I?" Taro was getting fired up.

"AND WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" Narumi shouted at the top of her lungs to avoid further conflict. She was obviously referencing the taller boy, but he still pointed at himself as if he didn't already know. "Yes, you."

"The name's Hirokuma Kikutake. I'm the Ultimate Marine." He responded in a fashion that made Narumi feel like she had ordered the response from him. "I apologize for this misbehavior and I promise not to make as much of an outburst in the future."

"You can stop saluting." Narumi chuckled nervously. The Ultimate Marine lowered his arm and walked away. He sat down at the end of the table and didn't make another word. "Very weird." Narumi turned back to the Ultimate Doctor and Servant.

"Don't move or it will sting more than it already does." Shigemori pressed a cotton ball, with what Narumi believed was rubbing alcohol, where Hirokuma had punched Taro in the face.

"It still stings no matter how much I move!" The Ultimate Servant winced as Shigemori dabbed at the wound. "…but thank you anyways."

Shigemori blinked a couple of times, obviously dumbfounded at these words. "You don't need to thank me, I'm just practicing my talent is all."

"Well, now you've met everyone." Narumi jumped as Yuno walked up behind her. "Are you okay? You're a bit jumpy."

"No, no, I'm fine. You just surprised me is all." She looked at Yuno. "It's just, there are some things about this place that I still have questions of."

"What kind of questions?"

"Like why are there thick wooden planks on the door in the main hall and why every floor past the first has been blocked off?"

"Oh, those kinds of questions."

"Yuno, as you know, we all ran away to this boarding school in the mountains to hide away from what was going on in the city. I'm sure that it couldn't have still happened here. This is the second best school for kids with talents like ours's." Narumi paused. "You don't think…"

"Upupupu!" An odd laughter rang throughout the entire great hall. Everyone stopped talking immediately and listened to where the laugh originated from. From the layout of the room, there was only one option remaining. The stage at the very end of the room with a podium. And sure enough, within seconds after the laugh was emitted, a black and white bear with a red left eye jumped up from behind the podium and sat down. Everyone was in shock and awe just at the sight of this thing.

"Is that…a bear?" Setsuko was the first to break the silence.

"I'm not just any bear, I am Monokuma!" The bear replied.

"Did that bear just talk?!" Euiko shrieked.

"Yes indeedy!"

"This is too weird." Everyone repeated the same words repeatedly until the entire great hall was buzzing with words and everyone drowned out everything.

"Hey, hey, hey!" The bear was showing signs of being upset. "There's no need for talking! I have an announcement to make! It's to clear up any questions you all may have." All the students collectively held their breaths. "That's better. Now, you may be wondering why the front doors have been boarded shut. To answer that, let me ask you this, do you remember why you wanted to come here?"

Narumi thought to herself exactly what her answer might be, but she couldn't give an exact answer.

"Of course, none of you probably remember. This was the final decision of Hope's Peak Academy. To make a boarding school way out in the mountains where it would be nearly impossible to find and start what they called "the Hope Program". That's you." Monokuma pointed at all of them separately. "However, I decided to hitch a ride and…remodel your living arrangements." He chuckled to himself. "I've decided to leave the windows open so that you can all enjoy the sun as much as you want, but I don't recommend trying to leave. Those forests are now teeming with such dangerous creatures, that if you stepped foot outside of the castle grounds to escape, they would rip you to shreds!" He laughed heartily, but nobody else was laughing. Captivated by every word he was saying, it seemed like everyone was rooted to where they were standing.

"What if we want to leave?" The Ultimate Chess Player made his voice known. "What exactly allows _**you**_ to stop _**us**_ from leaving?"

"Well now, well now, well now! I like this enthusiasm to get things rolling! It certainly will make this more entertaining!" Monokuma laughed loudly again.

"You didn't really answer my question."

"Oh, I'm not going to stop you from leaving. I'll have fun replaying your deaths over until I fall out of my seat from laughing so much." Monokuma laughed once more. "But now, with such a big castle with endless opportunities, why would you want to leave?"

"Because we don't like being locked up here!" Seika shouted in return as if she was playing volleyball and spiked the answer back.

"Fine. I can tell you how to leave."

"Good, because the sooner we can go the better…" The Ultimate Chess Player started up again.

"All you have to do is kill each other and not get caught!"

"!" Was all anyone could say. Kill each other? Surely, he couldn't be serious.

"Of course, I'm serious! And don't call me Shirley!" Monokuma shouted. "Well, is anyone interested?"

"Like hell we are!" Hirokuma was getting mad. "The fuck are you saying? Kill each other? That's absurd! Nobody in their right mind is going to agree with that!" He was about to storm the stage, but Narumi jumped in the way to stop him. "H-hey! What are you doing?!"

"I don't think we should get mad at the bear." Narumi looked back at Monokuma who was grinning evilly. "I think if he's the one suggesting WE kill each other, that means he probably has some sort of defense against US killing HIM." Narumi turned towards Monokuma. "Am I right on that?"

"Pant, pant." Gross, he was sweating. "You're so right on the money, it's actually kind of hot!"

"Stay away from me and my belongings." Narumi stated bluntly.

"Yes, I have some sort of defense against you snot-nosed brats!" Monokuma put his fists up as if he were fighting an invisible enemy. "As if I wouldn't come prepared to fight back!"

"So, just kindly tell us how to leave." Narumi stated bluntly again.

"I've already told you. Kill each other and don't get caught! You make it sound like you're so easily forgetful! That's your only exception. Kill your classmates and you can leave without a care in the world!"

"Mhm. I'm so going to report this." Narumi put her hand in her front pocket, but only felt lint. "W-what? WHAT IS THIS?! WHERE'S MY PHONE?!"

"Upupupupu! Now they're realizing they're all missing something vital!" It wasn't just Narumi, nobody had their phone. "Instead of phones, you all will have these e-Handbooks which will show a map of the school, the rules, and other things! Only use yours as lending someone your handbook is absolutely forbidden!" Monokuma threw a box in front of Narumi. Inside were plenty of smart phone looking devices. She dug through the box and found the one with her name on it, but when she powered it on, she noticed there was no signal to make a wireless connection.

"Let me guess, you've also cut off the network inside of the school so that we wouldn't simply be able to connect to that." Takumi inserted.

"Right indeed! You kids may be sharper than I thought! All fifteen of you!"

"Fifteen? You might just be the dumb one, Monokuma." Setsuko laughed. "There's sixteen of us."

"Sixteen?" Monokuma counted all the heads in the room. "Hey, hey, hey! What's going on?! There's only supposed to be fifteen! Unless…" The bear grinned wickedly. "…one of you is a traitor." The room gained the well accustomed silence once more. "This will be very exciting! Upupupu! See you all later! Happy killing!" And with that, the bear fell backwards and out of sight.

Nobody talked. Everyone just looked around the room at each other.

"A traitor? Come on, nobody would be a willing traitor." Yuno laughed it off. "The bear's just messing with us."

"I don't know, Yuno. It seemed to me like he was making sense from all the things he was saying." Genjo looked at his feet. "I don't want to believe him on this, but I don't think there's any evidence to argue against him."

The room fell into a heavy silence. Everyone began to have shifty eyes that showed they didn't know what the next person was going to do. Narumi looked back down at her new e-Handbook. Kill someone to leave? She doubted anyone would stoop so low as to murder someone else, but just now…it was obvious they were all feeling the seeds of despair being casted out. If she couldn't trust anyone in the room, who could she trust?

 **Prologue End**

 **Remaining: 16 Students**


	2. Chapter 1 - Daily Life

**Jeez, I meant for this to be shorter. Had to include a lot of stuff, so I guess it is what it is. Well, enjoy the Daily Life of the first chapter. It certainly was a challenge to write. I hope it's good enough!**

Chapter 1 – Future Disasters of the Teenage Mind (Daily Life)

"I mean, it's not like any of us are going to kill one another because a stupid teddy bear told us to, right?" Genjo broke the suspense and brought everyone back to earth. He was right. Nobody had a reason to kill anyone. And a little bear telling them to do it was not going to be the catalyst for murder.

"He's right. After all, what kind of Ultimates would we be if we just gave in and started murdering one another simply because that's a means for escape." Taro stepped up to the podium on the stage. "I don't see why we should want to escape anyways. Last time I checked, we get to stay in a castle for free." Koyomi let out a groan. "We have a new world of opportunity right within this building. We should give it a chance before even trying to escape."

Taro's words seemed to have a positive effect on the classmates. They immediately brightened up and brushed off Monokuma's ploy to get them to suspect each other. Although it seemed like everyone was back to being everyone's friend, it was obvious to Narumi that they still didn't completely trust each other.

"Okay, so, now that we've talked ourselves back down…" Hiroe stood up to get everyone's attention. "…maybe we could break into groups and search the building?"

"Hey, yeah! That sounds like a great idea!" Kyoko added in a happy tone. "I call being in a group with Narumi, Seika, and Yuno!"

"Who gave you permission to choose groups?" Hirokuma grunted.

"I wasn't choosing groups, I was forming A group! My group, to be exact." She pouted in response. She was acting like a child in comparison to a boy that looked like he had already seen combat. "If you have a problem with my choices, let me know!"

The Ultimate Marine had no retort to her final comment, "I guess you're right, but I do believe one person should divide us into separate groups."

"I can do it!" Narumi stepped forward and all eyes turned on her. "I've been keeping track of everyone's strengths and weaknesses, so I could definitely tell you which groups would work well together."

"Well, look at that. She is a manager after all." Setsuko smirked. Narumi wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or not.

"Anyways, I've been thinking about everyone here and everyone's talent." Narumi pointed at Kyoko. "I would actually say her group idea was right on the spot."

"What? Me? I did something right?" Kyoko was taken off guard.

"And for the next groups, I suggest that we have three other teams. That way everyone is in a team of four and then we can check the entire place together. With alibis." Finally, she got to the point she wanted to make. Making teams of two was too risky, especially when there was so much doubt floating around from what Monokuma had told them. Teams of three would have been an easy distraction, but teams of four makes everyone accountable. "Now, I believe we should get started with the assignments." She pointed at the Ultimate Botanist, "Hiroe Ohishi, you will be in a group with: Euiko Shirahata, Setsuko Sakata, and Koyomi Ibuki. I believe that together you all will be able to be in good spirits with each other and get the job done in a short amount of time." Then she pointed at the Ultimate Marine, "Hirokuma Kikutake, you will be in a group with: Naomi Nishimoto, Kazuma Yunogawa, and Taro Kunda..."

She knew this group would bring controversy, but she didn't know how quickly they would start shouting at her.

"What?! You're putting me in a group with that brute?!" Taro was both insulted and offensive. "With all due respect, Ms. Manager, but I don't believe I can comply with your wishes!"

"Same for me! Why would I want to be in a group with this pansy?!" Hirokuma grinded his teeth rather obviously. They both started giving each other the death glare.

"…I'm putting Naomi and Kazuma in the same group to keep you both in check. From what I have seen as my times as manager, the best works always came from the groups with two people that didn't see eye to eye." Narumi continued with her explanation. Finally, she pointed at the Ultimate Doctor, "Shigemori Noda, you will be in a group with: Tomoe Santo, Takumi Okamura, and Genjo Saitoh. The purpose of this group is to promote good connections through various branches of work. A director, a sniper, a doctor, and a lawyer. All are good qualities for hard workers." After separating the students into groups of four, Narumi clapped her hands together twice. "Now, let's get searching! My group will search along the west wing of the castle, Hiroe's group will search the basement area, Hirokuma's group will test the woods to see if what Monokuma actually said was true, and Shigemori's group will check the east wing of the castle." She pointed one finger in the air. "It is now 11:30 am, we will meet back in here just a little past 1 pm. Let's go!"

After dismissing the groups to search, Narumi joined up with her group.

"I've got to say, Narumi. For a person that just met everyone today, you really managed to show them how to be a leader." Seika smiled. "That's a good quality to have."

"It was nothing, I was just practicing my talent is all."

And with that, her group left the great hall and started to pick up the layout of the first floor. Right outside of the great hall were two hallways that made a perpendicular intersection. One hallway led to the east wing and the front entrance, while the other led directly to the west wing. They moved forward through the hallway and noticed different doors along the way. Narumi took note of these doors, but decided they posed no interest to her now.

When they arrived in the west wing, the first thing they could tell about it was the bulletin board that was right in the middle. They crowded around it to see if there was anything important, but if there had been, then it must have been ripped off a while ago.

"Hey, what's that?" Kyoko pointed down at their feet. Directly below them was a business card. Kyoko leaned over and picked up the card and read out what it said, "Mountain Campus headmaster - …" Whatever had come after the headmaster line was scribbled with a thick black sharpie.

"I wonder what it's doing here…" Seika placed her hand two fingers to her temple and closed her eyes.

"Maybe it's a joke card! I saw plenty of those at a shop once in Kyoto!"

"I don't think that's it, Kyoko." Narumi took the card from Kyoko and examined it. "I believe it has to do with where we are right now. Ah, if only the headmaster's name hadn't been scribbled out!"

"That is kind of troublesome. Here, I'll hold on to it for safe keepings." Narumi passed the card to Yuno, who buried it within her smock. "Now, it appears there's a few doors on both ends of the hallway. Maybe if we split up, we can check out what's in them faster?"

"That sounds like a great idea!"

"Alright, then. I'll go with Narumi. Kyoko, you and Seika can examine the rooms to the left of us."

"Sounds like a plan, Ms. Yuno!" Kyoko saluted to Yuno and then sprinted down the hall.

"K-Kyoko! Slow down! We're supposed to stick together!" Although Seika was a cheerleader, her larger-than-normal breasts were holding her back on her speed.

"Shall we go see the rooms?" Yuno whipped her ponytail back and forth in anticipation.

"Y-yeah. Let's go."

The first room's layout was a normal classroom, but had a total of fifteen desks and a teacher's desk. It was a traditional Japanese classroom with wooden floors, desks in rows, a TV monitor, a camera, and a blackboard. But something didn't seem right about the blackboard.

"What in the world is that?!" Yuno pointed at the blackboard.

Narumi followed her finger and noticed that it was a chalk sketch of Monokuma licking brown, white, and pink ice cream. But the unsettling factor was the "fudge" that was on the ice cream. It was a deep red that sent chills down Narumi's spine.

"That is in such poor taste, I don't even know where to begin." Narumi felt like she was about to vomit. "Let's go, Yuno. I don't like that picture at all."

"Good idea, neither do I."

The second room's layout was almost identical, aside from the chalkboard. Instead of being the disgusting image drawn on the last one, the new chalkboard had a sketch of Monokuma sleeping.

"Still pretty gross, but only because it's Monokuma." Yuno stuck out her tongue.

"That seems to be all that's in this room. There's one more, can you hold on until then?"

"Yeah, just so long as it's not another Monokuma ice cream sketch. I don't think I could stand seeing another of those." Narumi knew exactly how Yuno felt. She was just about to erase the sketch herself, but they left before she had time to do it.

The third door didn't lead to a classroom. The third door led to a covered walkway that ended up in a greenhouse. Inside the greenhouse were plenty of plants and flowers. It was a room filled with vivid colors that it almost made Narumi's head hurt.

"Wow, there's so many plants in here! Hiroe is going to flip when he finds out about this!" Yuno looked around at all the plants. "I didn't know there were this many different types! It almost makes me realize how much knowledge I lack surrounding botany!" Yuno laughed to cover up how disappointed she felt. "Well, there doesn't really seem to be anything of use in here right now. Maybe we should head back to the bulletin board and see what Seika and Kyoko found?"

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea." And with that, they left the greenhouse and walked towards the bulletin board. Seika and Kyoko were already waiting for them as soon as they got there.

"Hey! You're late!" Seika announced.

"I want fifty laps around the field, and I want them now!" Kyoko followed up. What is this, some kind of bad comedy sketch?

"Well, did you two find anything interesting over there?" Narumi pointed behind the two girls.

"No, there was just a classroom over there with nothing aside from fifteen desks, teacher's desk, and a chalkboard." Seika crossed her arms. "The other room was a janitor's closet with only basic cleaning materials. And they were stocked to the brim."

"Well now if we make a mess, we'll know how to clean it up right!" Kyoko added with a smile.

"That's a pretty good thing to have." Yuno nodded her head.

"And what did you two find?" Seika turned the conversation on them.

"Well, for starters, there was a classroom with a pretty grotesque drawing on the chalkboard." Yuno shuddered. "Just the thought of it brings chills to me."

"Other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary in either of the two classrooms. The third door led to a greenhouse with all different kinds of plants and flowers! It was so colorful it actually gave me a headache." Narumi put her hand to her forehead and forced the images of flowers out of her head.

"So, there's nothing really important over here?" Kyoko cocked her head to the side. "That's disappointing. I thought there would be something cool."

"The fact that there is a greenhouse is pretty important, Kyoko." Seika placed her hand on Kyoko's shoulder. "That means that there's something in there somebody we know would be interested in and might guide us to info about the things in there."

Narumi thought about it for a second, "oh, you mean Hiroe?"

"Who other than the Ultimate Botanist." Seika smiled warmly.

"Oh, yeah!" Kyoko's eyes brightened up when she thought of that. "I guess I forgot about Hiroe. Plants never interested me, so I purged the thought from my mind!" She mimed karate chopping the air as if it were her memory. She certainly is an odd character.

"I believe it's about time we returned to the great hall. Don't you think so, Narumi?" Seika referenced to the time Narumi asked for everyone to be back in the great hall.

"Yes, we should go back now."

They began to walk down the long corridor towards the great hall when Narumi noticed the doors again. She had written them off earlier and wanted to check them out, but she figured now was not the time.

The girls arrived in the great hall not much later than 1 pm when they noticed that all the other groups had already arrived.

"You four are late! Manager, you should abide by the time you set and make a good mental image for the others by being back here when you said you would be!" Hirokuma pointed a finger at Narumi. "Please, refrain from being late from now on!"

"Sorry for returning later than when we said to meet up again. I guess we lost track of time. None of us had a watch on us and we didn't notice a single clock." Narumi began to explain.

"You have no excuse! You have a fully functional e-Handbook on you that displays the current time!"

"It's fine. Don't let the stickler here get you annoyed." Setsuko grinned mischievously.

"S-stickler?!" Hirokuma's face turned white. Apparently, he didn't like being called a stickler.

"Well, what did you all find on your groups?" Narumi directed the room back on track.

Hiroe stood up to present first, "we found in the basement that there is a washing room for the ability to clean our clothes, a bath house that was roped off, and a trash room. That was all we could find down in the basement." After completing his rundown of what his team discovered, he sat back down.

"But since we had a little bit of extra time, we decided to test those metal grates blocking the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors. No dice." Koyomi shook his head.

"Alright, then I guess it's my turn." Hirokuma stood up. "We took a slab of meat from the kitchen and threw it out a window on the first floor towards the woods. We didn't even have to wait very long because soon after, something tore to the front of the woods and devoured the slab within seconds. So, to put it bluntly, we have to believe Monokuma on that one." Hirokuma returned to his position after he finished speaking.

"…ah! That leaves me!" Shigemori stood up and straightened his lab coat. He had obviously spaced out and wasn't listening to a word Hiroe or Hirokuma had said. "So, we checked the east wing of the castle. And, aside from a plethora of classrooms, we found an odd gift shop like place, a nurse's office that was taped off, and a gym."

"A gym? An actual wooden floor gym with bleachers and basketball goals and everything?" Seika was beginning to drool.

"Y-yeah, a gym." Shigemori was taken off guard by Seika's sudden break in character and collapsed back in his chair.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I lost my cool there." She forced a wide grin and muttered under her breath, "that's what I get for being a sports dweeb."

"Okay, now for our findings." Narumi stepped forward. "On the west wing we found a few classrooms, a janitor's closet, and a greenhouse that had plenty of interesting plants and flowers. A lot of which I had never seen or heard of before."

"A greenhouse? I'll have to check that out later." Hiroe smiled with anticipation.

"Yeah, we were hoping you might be able to give us insight on what those plants are capable of!" Yuno raised her hand as she spoke.

"Alright, that seems to do it for now. I don't see the need in us doing much of anything together at this moment." Narumi checked the time on her e-Handbook. "It's about 2pm now, I guess everyone's free to do whatever they want."

"Works for me." Naomi got up from her seat and exited the great hall without another word.

"How rude! She didn't even address that she was leaving." Hirokuma balled his hand in a fist. "Such disrespect! There would be no such display of ignorance if this were a regular school!"

"That's enough, Hirokuma." Taro sighed.

"I don't need your approval, butler!"

"It's SERVANT! I'm not some lowly butler!"

"I'm going to go to a quieter place before these two make me go crazy." Setsuko headed for the door in a quick pace.

"W-wait for me, Sets!" Euiko followed closely behind her.

After a few minutes of absolute nothing, Yuno approached Narumi. "Well, that went about as well as I thought it would." She smiled at Narumi in a way that said, 'I didn't mean it like it was done poorly'.

"That's fine, Yuno. I don't think I can handle a lot more right now. I'm kind of tired, I think I'm going to go back to my dorm room and lie down for a bit." Narumi yawned. "This day has taken a lot out of me."

"I hear that! Okay, I'll see you later, then!"

Narumi left the great hall and headed towards the spiral staircase and started upwards. It felt like a longer trip going up, even though the dorms were only on an expanded section of the third floor. The climb felt like it was going on way too long and her legs were too heavy to carry her any further, but she eventually made it to the dormitory wing. The first thing she saw upon entry to the familiar hallway was the RA room. She hadn't noticed an RA downstairs in the great hall, and there were sixteen rooms for all the students, so what was this room? She tested the knob, but it was locked. Abandoning the idea, Narumi continued to her room, where she finally was able to find some relaxation.

Now that she was wide awake, she could make out a better distinction of the room. It was a larger than normal room with a four-poster bed in the center of it. On the back wall of the room, there was a wide window that showed the mountains and forest outside of the castle, and a TV monitor next to another camera. Close to the door was a table that had a mirror and all sorts of accessories Narumi would normally use. Parallel to the table was a large wardrobe that she assumed help her clothes. The room was carpeted, but the carpet stopped right before another door on the back-left side. She walked to the door and checked inside. It was a bathroom with a sink, toilet, and shower. Everything about this room was for an elongated stay.

"I wonder if that was the plan for this place…" Narumi thought aloud.

"Of course, it is!" A voice behind her answered her question. She jumped and turned around to see Monokuma standing behind her. "Howdy there! Did I scare ya?"

"Don't go sneaking up on me like that! Especially in my own bedroom!"

"Say what? I wasn't sneaking!"

"You didn't say a word, but you suddenly appear? What kind of person DOESN'T think that's sneaking!?"

"Hey, hey! Don't try to paint me as some pervert!"

"I'm not…"

"Well, fine then. What I wanted to tell you is what I told everyone else. The water in the bathroom shuts off after 11 pm and doesn't turn back on until 7 am! To conserve the electricity and plumbing!"

"Oh, thank you."

"You're welcome." He grumbled some swear word that Narumi couldn't exactly make out. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have BETTER people to see."

"Could he be any saltier?"

Narumi shut the bathroom door and collapsed on her bed. What a day it has been. Without even taking off her clothes, her eyes shut with no resistance, and she fell into a deep sleep.

* **Ding dong ding dong!***

"Ahem, this is an announcement being made by your wonderful headmaster, Monokuma! It is now 7 am. Let's greet the day with a smile and get ready for a beautiful morning!"

"Morning?" Narumi sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. "Ah! I slept in!" Narumi quickly took a shower and dressed herself for the day. She walked over to the table and fixed her hair in the mirror, and then headed out for the great hall.

Upon arrival in the great hall, a couple of things stood out to her more than ever. For starters, there was now a gigantic feast set out on the tables for the students. Another thing is the fact that Hirokuma and Taro were chatting and having a pleasant conversation for once.

"Oh hey, Hirokuma. Hey, Taro! Good morning!" Narumi greeted them both with a warm smile.

"Good morning, Ms. Yokokawa. It certainly is a pleasure to see you this fine day." Taro returned her smile.

"Yeah, it's pretty good so far." Hirokuma took a sip from his cup of coffee.

"Do you mind if I sit next to you? It doesn't look like Yuno, Seika, or Kyoko have gotten here yet."

"Sure, you can sit here." Taro looked back at his plate.

"They sure did put a lot of effort into making so many delicious foods! I don't even know where to start. There's chicken, eggs, steak, vegetables, rolls, and so much more! Ack! Too many choices!" Narumi chuckled. She excelled at small talk sometimes.

"Yes, quite. I did fancy some of the eggs for a bit, but I don't believe they're up to my standards." Taro sighed. "Maybe I should start cooking for all of us."

"Maybe you should, Tero." Hirokuma laughed.

"It's Taro, idiot." But Hirokuma still laughed.

"What's up with him? He seems to be in higher spirits than normal." Narumi looked towards Hirokuma. All Taro did in response was touch his nose. "Oh, no way. You didn't."

"It's not such a bad thing to put some good spirits in wound up people sometimes. Even if they normally take their coffee straight from the maker, I thought I would add a little bit of…happiness to all of our lives." Taro smiled mischievously.

"That's not okay! What if Monokuma finds out?" Narumi chided him in a hushed voice.

"Monokuma will not find out. I made sure of it." Taro picked up his plate and utensils and headed towards the kitchen, undoubtedly to begin washing them.

"What a dangerous person."

"Goooooooooooooooooooooood morning, Narumiin!" Kyoko flopped down on the seat next to Narumi.

"Did you sleep well, Narumi?" Seika sat down across from Narumi.

"Yes, I ended up sleeping all the way from 2 pm to 7 am."

"That's a long nap!" Kyoko already piled a mountain on top of her plate.

"I didn't mean for it to be that long. It just happened."

"Well, I don't blame you. I'm still tired." Yuno yawned as she sat down next to Seika. "I'm more of a night owl than a morning bird." She grabbed a piece of toast and spread butter on top of it.

"Well, today is going to be different. I'm certain of it!" Seika passionately stated as she poured a little too much water into her glass.

"Did Monokuma ever tell you guys about the water situation?" Narumi changed the subject.

"Uh, yes. I believe he told all of us who were still in the great hall and then went to everyone separately." Yuno yawned again. This time louder than the previous.

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure everyone was up to speed."

"That's a good quality to have, Narumi." Yuno poured herself some steaming hot coffee. "Bottoms up." And swiftly chugged the entire mug. "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That sure lightens the spirit!" She laughed. "A nice pick-me-up before having to do any functioning is always the best way to operate!"

"I agwee!" Kyoko muttered between mouthfuls.

"Kyoko, don't eat with your mouth full!" Seika scolded.

Kyoko swallowed the food she had in her mouth. "Sorry!"

Narumi picked up her plate and took it into the kitchen and gave it to Taro, who was predictably working on cleaning the plates and utensils. Then she left for her room.

"Hmm, I seem to have some time until the nightly announcement." She left her room and nearly ran into Seika. "Oh, I'm sorry, Seika! I didn't see you there!"

"It's all good, Narumi. No damage was done to me." Seika was such a sweet girl.

"Hey, would you like to hang out for a little while?"

"Sure, I don't see why not!" She smiled warmly. "Maybe we could go check out that gym on the east wing?" Seika and Narumi both went to the gym and played some games in there like basketball, volleyball, and catch. Seika bested Narumi in everything, but she tried hard.

Narumi felt like she grew closer to Seika.

"Hey, Seika? I've noticed how you seem to act like a big sister towards Kyoko. Is there a reason for that?"

"Oh, so you noticed. I'm not surprised you picked up on that. I come from a small village in the middle of nowhere, and I doubt you've ever heard of it. In the village, there were barely any children my age or younger. They all seem to be older than me or an adult. I guess Kyoko just feels like the little sister I never had." Seika smiled.

"That makes sense."

"And what about you, Narumi? Do you have any siblings?"

"Yes, I have three brothers and two sisters. All of them are younger than me."

"Oh, so you've had to be in charge of everything ever since day one!"

"Basically."

"Well, that certainly explains why your talent is being a manager. I'll bet you're a wonderful older sister."

"Yeah, you can think that. My siblings see me more as a boss to them rather than a sister. I mean, I do try to make sure they're doing everything as Mom and Dad would want, but I can be a little strict with them sometimes."

"Ah, I wish I had that life."

"You do?"

"Yes, of course!

"Why? It's a pretty demanding and unfulfilled life."

"I just like the prospect of being a leader for others. It's just something that comes naturally, yet I don't really get."

"What do you mean? You're the Ultimate Cheerleader. What don't you get?"

"Be that as it may, I have never been the head cheerleader on any squad. I've always been considered the lower person on the totem pole, even if I outshine all the other girls, I'm still considered just another one of the girls."

"Damn, that sounds rough."

"Yes, quite." She stood quietly for a second, but then changed her attitude. "Well, even if I was never able to fulfill my dream, I can still work to lead the children into tomorrow!"

"That's a good attitude to have!"

After Seika waved goodbye to me, I headed back to my room. But before I could even leave the east wing, I ran into Naomi.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!"

"Ow! Watch where you're going, redhead!"

"Here let me help you up." Narumi reached down to Naomi and gave her support.

"Thanks."

"Hey, Naomi? Would you like to spend some time together?"

"W-what? With me?" She looked around the hallway. "Fine, then. Pleased to make your acquaintance!"

Naomi and Narumi went to lie down in Narumi's room.

Narumi felt like she grew closer to Naomi.

"Hey, Naomi?"

"What is it."

"You never told me what your Ultimate talent is. Could you possibly tell me?"

Naomi looked at the camera. "I cannot."

"Oh, is there a reason?"

"I cannot disclose information about my life right now."

"Can you maybe give me a hint?"

"I said I cannot."

"I get it! You don't remember it, do you? I remember that I woke up pretty disoriented yesterday. Maybe that happened to you too and now you don't remember your talent?"

"Sure, we'll go with that."

"That's not really an answer you should give." Narumi looked at the mirror. "Naomi, has anyone told you how pretty you are?"

"W-what?!"

"Your hair is so nice, and the way you have it styled really completes your look. I think you look pretty enough to be on a magazine cover."

"T-thanks." Naomi's face was turning a shade of pink.

"So, Naomi. What do you think of this school?"

"I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been thinking about it ever since we got here. I'm not sure exactly what it is. It doesn't feel like a real school."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Sure."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

"Okay?"

"Well, it's almost time for the nightly announcement. I'm going to head back to my room."

"H-hey! Naomi?! We still have half an hour before the announcement!" But she had already left without so much as a goodbye. But within seconds of Naomi leaving Narumi's room…

 ***Ding dong ding dong.***

"Ahem, this is a special announcement! Can everyone meet me in the great hall for a school wide meeting? There is no room for being absent! Being absent might mean expulsion!"

"Expulsion? He can't mean that." Narumi got up and walked down to the great hall.

"Ah, there you are!" Yuno waved as soon as Narumi arrived.

"I just came here from my room. What's going on?"

"Apparently, Monokuma has some special thing he needs to tell us."

"Yes, I do!" A loud springing noise announced the arrival of the monochrome teddy bear on the podium. "In fact, I'm glad that you all came here as quickly as you did. Makes me appreciate this group more than others I've headed before!"

"Others?" Kazuma sliced through Monokuma's sentimental memories. "We aren't your first?"

"Let's not talk about the others right now! Instead let's talk about this!" Monokuma held up envelopes above his head. "Call this an incentive to begin the killings! All this waiting around has been driving me to tears from how boring it is!" He threw all the envelopes to the floor and everyone went to see what was on them.

"They're addressed to us?" Euiko picked up the one with her name on it.

"That's kind of strange. I wonder what this is?" Taro tore open his envelope and pulled the contents out. "!" His face contorted into a mixture of shock and fear. "This is!" He directed his attention back to Monokuma. "WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?!"

"Oh, please. I have my methods." Monokuma laughed.

"H-how bad can it be?" Yuno picked up her's and opened it up. "N-n-no!" Her eyes grew wide in fear. "I thought I burned this!"

"I can make copies, sweetie." Monokuma laughed his annoying laugh again.

Narumi finally held onto the envelope that bared her name on the front. The letters were arranged so neatly, they almost came across as taunting. After gaining the courage to open her package, she tore it open without a second thought and pulled out a letter. The letter read: "My dear Narumi, ever since you left the city, I've been wondering what you could have done with my money? I'm not going to be happy about this. And as soon as you get back, I am going to need to hear some explaining. Until then, I'm going to hold onto something of yours. Our reunion will be so sweet and I cannot wait until the wedding!" – Natsuki.

"Monokuma, how dare you contact Natsuki?!" Is what Narumi wanted to scream, but she couldn't find her voice.

"Narumi, what's wrong? You sound like you're choking." Kyoko looked blankly at Narumi. "Can I see your letter?"

"NO!" Narumi ripped the letter in tiny bits and threw them all around her. "I don't want anyone to see!"

"Ahahahahaha! See how much despair I've created by digging up some past mistakes?" Monokuma grinned so wickedly, Narumi could have sworn his eyes were laughing too.

"Well, I'm not taken in." Naomi broke the thickness of the room. "You may have dug up some dirt on me, but I'm not going to let this hold me down." She walked up onto the stage and stood next to the podium. She cleared her throat and, "my letter says five words. 'They're still looking for you.'" After reading out her own letter, she crumbled up the envelope and threw it at Monokuma's feet. "Break me. I dare you."

Monokuma was taken aback by this behavior. He had never seen such a resistant spirit before. "I'll get you my pretty! And you're a little problem, too!" And with that, he vanished.

The room suddenly was full of questions all directed at Naomi, all of them were about the letter.

"Who exactly is looking for you?" Kazuma asked with a hint of suspicion.

"What have you done?" Koyomi was almost surprised at her laid-back demeanor.

"What does that letter mean?" Tomoe gazed at Naomi with burning eyes.

"I'm done with this." Naomi got off the stage and left the great hall.

"Well, if she didn't want to answer so many questions, then she shouldn't have read out her letter to all of us." Setsuko shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever, it's been a hell of a day." Genjo yawned. "Hey, isn't it about time for…"

 ***Ding dong ding dong.***

"Ahem, this is an announcement made by your wonderful headmaster, Monokuma! It is now 11 pm. The water in your bathrooms will shut off in approximately thirty minutes and the curfew will be set in. The great hall will be locked and entrance from that point is strictly prohibited! Well, now. Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!"

"…that?" Genjo finished his statement.

"It is pretty late, I'm going to head to bed." Takumi stretched and walked towards the door. Slowly, everyone filed out one by one. They all seemed to be in low spirits. Monokuma's recent attempt to get them killing was not working, but it still brought them all bad thoughts.

"I really do need to get some sleep." Narumi thought as soon as she got into her room. Without any further question, she got under the covers and closed her eyes.

 ***Ding dong ding dong.***

"Ahem, this is an announcement made by your wonderful headmaster, Monokuma! It is now 7 am. Let's greet the day with a smile and get ready for a beautiful morning!"

Narumi sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. It hadn't felt like she had been asleep for very long. She yawned loudly, and began to get ready for the day.

Within ten minutes of waking up, Narumi arrived in the great hall where Hirokuma, Taro, and Takumi were already there eating their food.

"Good morning, everyone." Narumi greeted them.

"Good morning, Narumi. Nice to see you early again." Hirokuma smiled. "I'm glad you've decided to continue being an example for everyone else here."

"Mhm." She sat down next to Taro yet again. "You didn't put anything in his coffee today, did you?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Monokuma changed the lock on the liquor cabinet." Taro grimaced. Narumi could tell that Taro hadn't put liquor in only Hirokuma's morning coffee.

"I'm too tired for this early." Takumi yawned widely and dropped a jar of grape jelly all over the floor. "Shit."

"You buffoon! Now I'll have to clean this up and I don't have to proper tools with me!" Taro stood up, clearly angered.

"Oh, I know where you can get some." Narumi stood up. "Follow me, I can show you."

"You're coming too, Takumi. You spilled it, you're going to help clean it up." Taro ordered the boy.

"Fine."

The three of them scurried down the hallway towards the west wing where Narumi directed them to the janitor's closet.

"Kyoko and Seika said that there's all sorts of cleaning materials inside it. I'm sure you can easily clean grape jelly off the floor with something in there." Narumi turned left and approached the door.

"I'm sure I could recognize some cleaning product that will aide in this."

"Whatever, I normally try to clean up my messes anyways, thank you very little."

"Well, here is the janitor's closet." Narumi stopped in front of a door right near the corner. "You should find all your custodial needs in here."

"Thank you for directing us here, Narumi. You've been a great help to me." Taro smiled strongly.

"Alright, alright. Let's get what we need and go!" Takumi threw open the door and gazed inside the closet. It seemed like a few seconds before he realized what he saw. The minute that his brain finally developed what he was seeing, he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Takumi?!" Narumi looked inside the closet and dropped to her knees.

 ***Ding dong ding dong!***

"A body has been discovered!"


	3. Chapter 1 - Deadly Life

Chapter 1 – Future Disasters of the Teenage Mind (Deadly Life)

 ***Ding dong ding dong!***

"A body has been discovered!" Monokuma's voice rang out through the hall. All the three of them could do was stare at the body. Narumi's eyes seemed to swim in and out of focus as they traced their way up to the head.

Before them laid the body of the Ultimate Botanist, Hiroe Ohishi. He was against the wall, blood draining out of the wound in his chest. His eyes were open looking at the floor, guiding others to see a knife lying near a custodial bucket.

"This has to be some sick joke, right?" Taro was the first to break the silence. "He can't really be…" He stopped himself. He couldn't even say it. Narumi could tell. She felt like saying it would make it real. "I…I'll go get the others." Taro backed away from the closet and stumbled down the hall towards the great hall.

"Why?" Takumi squeaked out. "What kind of monster would do this?!" Narumi didn't know how to answer that. She kept trying to say something to make the situation better, but every attempt only resulted in a pitiful rush of air. "I can't look at this anymore…" Takumi walked down the hall and sat against the wall, tucking his head between his knees.

Soon after, the others began to appear and witness the body. Every single glimpse brought on a new wave of shock and sorrow. Finally, what felt like an eternity, Monokuma came back on the screen.

"To explain something that I guess wasn't that clear. The body discovery announcement means that three people have found a deceased classmate. As soon as announcement has been played, an investigation will go underway! After a certain amount of time, or until I get bored, we will have a class trial! So, get your detective hats and your pipes and get to work!"

"This is real, isn't it?" Seika's eyes were still wide from the fear of looking at Hiroe's dead body. "We have to actually do this?"

"I'm afraid we have to." Genjo said with a hint of regret. "Let's go ahead and get to work. It's better to just do as Monokuma asks than to delay the inevitable." Genjo got up and headed towards the great hall.

"Genjo? Where are you going?" Setsuko demanded. "The body is in the janitor's closet. You're going the wrong way."

"Pardon me, Setsuko. But I'm going to investigate in my own way." Genjo replied solemnly.

"Just let him go, Sets." Euiko squeaked from behind Setsuko. "I want to do something, let's go somewhere else."

"Alright. I think I know why, but alright." Setsuko abandoned her tough exterior and let Euiko lead the way.

Everyone began to disperse shortly after Setsuko and Euiko left. After people had cleared out, there were only three people still by the janitor's closet: Narumi, Naomi, and Kazuma.

"Naomi, Kazuma, are you okay?" Narumi approached them.

"I'm as good as I'm going to be." Naomi responded.

"I'll be alright. But I need to investigate the body." Kazuma walked over to the closet.

"The body?! How can you even bring yourself to look at it?" Narumi gasped in horror.

"Something seemed off about it. I'm going to check it out."

"I need to examine some places of my own before I do the body." Naomi looked distant. Is this how she showed weakness?

"Can I go with you, Naomi?"

Naomi looked taken aback, she hadn't expected such a sudden question. "Very well, just don't get in my way."

Narumi began to walk with Naomi towards the greenhouse. "Why are we going in there?"

"He was the Ultimate Botanist. I figure he might have something of use in there for us. Or there could be a clue as to his murder."

"A clue?" Narumi walked into the greenhouse for the second time. This time she noticed that the entire area was in shambles. "What the?!" Tables had been turned over, pots holding plants were broken, dirt lined the floor, and a bookshelf on the back wall had been pulled to the ground. "What on earth happened here?"

"That's a tricky question. From what I can see, there's two possible outcomes that could have happened here. Either there was a struggle, or…" Naomi stopped what she was going to say and looked at the floor.

"…or what?" Narumi followed Naomi's gaze.

"I'll hold onto that thought for now." Naomi bent her knees and brushed some dirt away from a spot on the floor. "Just as I had expected." She stood up and held a torn piece of paper.

"What's that?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's a note."

"What does it say?"

"It says something about meeting up in the greenhouse around 4 am. But I can't figure out from who."

"Well, it's a good enough clue for now."

"There's still more to be found here. Help me lift that bookshelf in the back, please?" Naomi walked across the greenhouse and gripped the underside.

"Oh, sure thing." Narumi trotted over and grabbed the other side. With a little bit of added effort, they managed to put the bookshelf upright again. "Hey, what's that?" Narumi pointed down to the dirt-less area of the floor where the bookshelf had been.

"It looks like a notebook." Naomi picked up a spiral-bound journal. She opened to the front page. "It's Hiroe's!"

"What's in it? Maybe it'll tell us who the killer is!"

"Be real, Narumi. How could he have done that?" Naomi flipped through the notebook. "But it does give us some insight on what he had been working on…hmm? There seems to be a page missing."

"What's in the notebook?"

"It's all his logs about the plants he was studying and what effects they can do to humans. Both the good and the bad."

"How would he know what the effects do?"

"I guess who would test them."

"On what?"

"Himself? Other things? I don't know. I'm just speculating. I wonder where this missing journal page is?"

They began to head for the door, when Narumi looked down at the floor again. "Hey, that looks like…" And sure enough, on the ground was dried blood. "Naomi! There's blood over here!"

"Let me see." She walked to where Narumi was pointing and examined the entire area. "It appears this is still recent, even though it has dried."

"Do you think Hiroe might have pricked his finger on a thorn the other day and some got on the floor?"

"No. It seems that some of the blood is mixed in with the dirt right here and has made it all clumpy. It had to have happened after the dirt got on the floor."

"After? How does that make sense?"

"We'll have to see. Now, I believe we've seen everything we need to here. Let's head back to the body."

And so, the two girls returned to the janitor's closet where Kazuma was waiting by the door.

"Took you girls long enough to return. Did you stop for ice cream on the way?"

"That's not funny."

"Whatever. I was right about something off with the body. You should have a look for yourself." Kazuma stretched his arms. "I haven't checked his pockets. If you would be so kind, would you do that work for me?"

"How chivalrous." Naomi sneered. "Actually, I want Narumi to be of more use for me. Could you examine the body for me?"

"ME?! But I don't even know the first thing about an autopsy report!"

"Fine, then I'll teach you. I expect you to be on top of this after the first case." Naomi stooped close to Hiroe's corpse. "First, you need to check the body's state." She did a pat down of the body and resumed. "Second, you need to check for any punctures or abrasions across them." She rolled up his blue jeans and noticed many healed cuts that also appeared infected. "This is a little nasty. Never expected to see so many different cuts that are in that state. Take note of this Narumi, if you ever see anything like this…don't touch it. You have no idea what it could be." Narumi nodded her head. "Okay, I found an area on his chest where his shirt was punctured by something. He seems to still be bleeding from it, which doesn't make any sense as his heart has stopped pumping blood." Naomi lifted his shirt and looked at the wound. It was small, but big enough to be mistaken for any other murder wound. It was enflamed and oozing blood. "Nice. Just nice. Next, we see if they have anything in their pockets that may assist our investigation." Naomi shoved her hand into his left pocket and pulled out his e-Handbook, she tossed that to the side as it was useless to their investigation. She moved over to his right pocket and pulled out a wadded-up piece of paper. "Hmm? What's this?" She uncrumpled the wad and began to read. "Hey! Narumi, it's the missing journal page!"

"What's the page about?"

"It's about a plant called 'Solanum elaeagnifolium'."

"Okay, and in regular speak?"

"It's also known as the silver-leaf nightshade. It's in the same family as tomatoes, except everything about this is extremely poisonous."

"Do you think that's how he could have died?"

"It could very well explain where the wound came from. But that doesn't fully explain everything in the crime scene."

"What do you mean?"

Naomi pointed over near the corner. "It's hard to miss, to be perfectly honest." She pointed at the knife that rested where it was the first time Narumi found the body. "A knife, plain and simple."

"But if there's a knife, what does the nightshade have to do with the case?"

"I don't know, but the knife also has blood on it. I'm not really willing to take off our victim's pants to see if there's a wound down there."

"Okay, something still doesn't add up."

"Then let me help you!" A voice called out behind them in an unmistakably sing-song voice.

"Ack! Monokuma!? What the fuck do you want?" Naomi was startled by his sudden appearance.

"I've come to bring you an unbiased presentation of the body called "The Monokuma File"! It has everything you'll need to figure out about the corpse if you haven't already checked it out." Monokuma looked proud.

"Let me see what it says." Narumi grabbed the file and began to examine the page. "The Monokuma File #1 Victim: Hiroe Ohishi. The victim suffered some sort of puncture on his chest and a large lump on his head suggests it was hurt." Narumi looked up. "Is that all? You're not really giving much."

"I'm giving you what I can. Anything more and I might as well say who the killer is!" Monokuma laughed. "And of course, I can't do that!"

"Dick." Kazuma muttered under his breath.

"Now, I'll leave you kids to it! Have fun!" And with that, he vanished once more.

"Well, since the Monokuma File covers that he has a head wound, I guess we don't need to cover that." Naomi stood up again. "And now, that's how you do an autopsy. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to do it well next time?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

"Great. Now I'm going to go alone somewhere. You can go check out other things before the trial." Naomi left without another word.

"I guess I can go talk to people and see if they have anything to say about Hiroe's whereabouts before the murder." Narumi walked down the hall away from the body and turned right to go to the great hall. As soon as she stepped into the great hall, she felt the dampening that had befallen the once cheerful room. She decided to not let her spirits get down. "Who do I talk to first?" She looked at everyone in the room and then noticed Koyomi standing along the wall doing absolutely nothing. She walked over to him, "hey, Koyomi."

He looked up at her. His spunk from the other day had left him an empty husk, "hi, Narumi."

"Can I ask you something? It's about Hiroe."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Did you talk to him or see him before he was discovered this morning?"

"Well, now that I think about it. I think I saw him last night. He left his room about 3:50 am. I know this because I take some very early walks around the castle to soothe my soul. I opened my door to leave for my walk when I saw him descend the stairs. I thought nothing of it. I had figured he was going to work on his plants or take a walk. I never would have imagined…this…"

"Thank you, Koyomi..." Before she could ask him any more questions, there was a new announcement.

 ***Ding dong ding dong.***

"I'm getting really bored waiting for you ingrates. Let's go ahead and get this trial underway! Please head to the middle of the corridor leading to the west wing and enter double doors for the class trial! I'll be waiting!"

"I guess we need to do as he says." Koyomi dragged his body towards the door.

After the great hall cleared out, Narumi began to walk towards the west wing. "I won't give in to these awful feelings. I will uncover the killer, and I will stop Monokuma!"

She arrived at the double doors a little after 9 am. All fifteen students were waiting quietly.

"You're late, Narumi!" Hirokuma shouted at her.

"Is that really necessary right now, Hirokuma?" Setsuko covered her ears.

"Remain punctual, Narumi." Hirokuma said quieter.

"Right, I will." Suddenly, the doors began to creak open and the class looked inside to see an elevator covered by a metal grate. They opened the grate and all stepped into the lift.

After everyone had gotten into the elevator, the grate shut on its own and began to descend into the earth. It went farther and farther, deeper than the basement and then some. It felt like it was an eternity. The rickety elevator shook as they plunged further and further into the ground, until as quickly as it had started, it stopped. The grate pulled back and the light shown into the elevator.

"Welcome, to the class trial!" Monokuma's cheery voice echoed through all their skulls as they stood before where they must uncover, deceive, and convict one of their classmates. Here stands a new playing field of death!


	4. Chapter 1 - Trial

**I've changed the format for the trial due to the intensity and quick action dialogue. I hope you memorized who everyone is!**

Chapter 1 – Future Disasters of the Teenage Mind (Trial)

The court room was built in circular style so that everyone can see everyone. The walls were tinted an electric blue and had a carpeted area leading to and around the stands. There was a giant metal door on one part of the circle, Narumi didn't even want to know what was behind that. In the middle of everything was a big throne, equipped with a gavel and a button.

"Hey, hey! Welcome to the trial grounds! Please step out of the elevator and find the place marked for you, then we'll get started!" Narumi and the others walked to their assigned placements and noticed the picture frame of Hiroe where he would have stood. "I think that isn't in bad tastes for anyone. I just want everyone to be here to experience the trial – living and dead!"

 **Setsuko:** Fine, whatever. Let's just get this thing started so that we can get out of this creepy place.

 **Monokuma:** Creepy? That's insulting! I worked so hard on this just for everyone here.

 **Setsuko:** So, yeah. It's creepy.

 **Monokuma:** Anyways, let's give a quick rundown of how the class trial works. Basically, you've gathered information about the murder and you will be testifying in the court to determine who the killer is! But choose wisely, if you choose the wrong person, EVERYONE besides the killer will be punished! But, if you choose correctly, I'll only punish the killer!

 **Taro:** And by punished you mean…

 **Monokuma:** EXECUTED!

 **Seika:** H-How dare you?! That's so horrible!

 **Monokuma:** It's the punishment deserved for someone who would disrupt the daily peace and bring death and despair! Now, without further ado…LET THE TRIAL BEGIN! Maybe start with determining what was the thing that killed poor Hiroe.

 **Euiko:** I don't even want to think about that!

 **Naomi:** I'm pretty sure it had to be something handy that the killer could have used.

 **Kazuma:** And what exactly would you suppose that item is?

 **Yuno:** I didn't get a good look at the body, but wouldn't it have to be something sharp? It did look like he had a big wound on his chest…

 **Kyoko:** There was?

 **Narumi:** Do you really not remember? On the body's chest, there was a stab wound that kept pouring out blood…I'm surprised that would escape anyone's memory.

 **Kyoko:** I don't like gore so much, so I just went to sleep right then and there!

 **Koyomi:** You took a nap?!

 **Seika:** No, she fainted.

 **Koyomi:** Oh, that makes better sense.

 **Kazuma:** I'm waiting on an answer here.

 **Setsuko:** Oh, for fuck's…wouldn't it have to be the knife that we found at the scene?

 **Kazuma:** Precisely. The knife matched the same size and diameter that created the wound. There's no doubt here that the killer used that knife that was stained with the victim's blood!

 **Narumi:** No, that's wrong!

 **Kazuma:** Then explain to me how I'm wrong.

 **Narumi:** Naomi and I both examined the wound further. It had a certain tenacity that most stab wounds don't normally exhibit!

 **Kyoko:** Oooh! ~ Fancy words! I wonder what they mean?

 **Yuno:** I don't get where you're going, but I can act as a translator for Kyoko. She says there's something about the wound that doesn't normally happen when a person gets stabbed.

 **Narumi:** And our residential Ultimate Doctor could shed some well needed light on that!

 **Shigemori:** Oh? What? My turn? Sorry…I was taking a nap.

 **Setsuko:** But you're standing up! How do you do that?

 **Shigemori:** Well, you know how cows lock their knees when they go to sleep…

 **Narumi:** Now isn't the time for trivia that doesn't pertain to your field of study!

 **Hirokuma:** Hey, doc? You think you could hurry it up? I'm growing old over here.

 **Shigemori:** Oh, oh. Right…what's the question again?

 **Naomi:** Damn you're useless. What's the one thing about the wound on Hiroe that doesn't consist with a normal stab wound?

 **Shigemori:** Aside from the odd way the wound healed…it should be the flow of blood that keeps coming out. Post mortem, the heart shuts down and the blood flow should stop almost immediately. That's the one thing that I still can't quite explain about the body. How did it get stabbed and not stop bleeding?

 **Naomi:** That's easy. Because he wasn't stabbed to death.

 **Kazuma:** W-What?!

 **Naomi:** Or at least, he wasn't stabbed with the knife.

 **Kazuma:** Then tell us, what was he stabbed with?

 **Narumi:** I've got it! No, he was stabbed with that knife. However, that's not the reason why the wound isn't normal.

 **Kazuma:** So, what you're saying is…

 **Narumi:** I'm saying that the murder was not performed with the knife! The knife was only a prop that aided in the murder!

 **Koyomi:** Hey, I could be of some use with these acting words!

 **Kyoko:** I'm lost.

 **Setsuko:** What else is new.

 **Shigemori:** So, if you're suggesting that Hiroe wasn't killed with the knife…then what was the actual weapon?

 **Narumi:** The killer…turned Hiroe's own work against him!

 **Kyoko:** The killer made the plants into his servants and then used them to attack Hiroe only to kill him in his sleep! How mortifying!

 **Euiko:** Nooooo! That's terrible!

 **Taro:** Don't talk about servants as if we're all murderers being controlled by someone!

 **Kazuma:** …

 **Narumi:** What's on your mind?

 **Kazuma:** Genjo. What do you have to add?

 **Genjo:** Hmm?

 **Kazuma:** You're the Ultimate Lawyer. I would imagine you would have the ability to discern what here is a lie and what isn't. Why are you deciding to shut up now? You bothered me all yesterday in the laundry room with talk about the latest court dramas.

 **Genjo:** I'm only waiting until the opportunity presents itself.

 **Kazuma:** Right.

 **Narumi:** Anyways, let's establish the weapon the killer used and how they killed him.

 **Kyoko:** I told you! The killer made the plants into his servants and used them to attack poor Hiroe while he slept!

 **Narumi:** No, that's wrong!

 **Kyoko:** I'm wrong?

 **Narumi:** Kyoko, not everything is a fantasy. But aside from that, I have proof that says that Hiroe was not killed in his sleep.

 **Hirokuma:** And what is it? Don't hold out on us. SHOW US YOUR ULTIMATE POWER!

 **Setsuko:** Again, dude. Turn it down five notches.

 **Narumi:** Koyomi. You said it yourself. You take nightly strolls around the castle to ease your soul.

 **Koyomi:** Yeah, I do that. Your point?

 **Narumi:** You said that last night, around 3:50 am, you saw Hiroe leave his room and go downstairs. Is that right?

 **Koyomi:** Yes, that sounds exactly right.

 **Narumi:** Then that proves that Hiroe was not attacked in his room.

 **Kyoko:** Meanie! Shot down my only smart suggestion without any remorse!

 **Takumi:** That was supposed to be smart?

 **Taro:** Okay, then. If you can tell us when he left his room, how can you tell when exactly he was murdered and where?

 **Narumi:** I've got it! Naomi found a note in the greenhouse during our investigation that asked for someone to meet someone in the greenhouse at 4 am.

 **Setsuko:** How vague. Can you tell us who was meeting who? Who was that note intended for? Did the killer send the note to Hiroe to lure him there only to murder him?

 **Narumi:** I can tell you that Hiroe was leaving ten minutes before 4 am. Meaning that he wanted to have the time to get there. I would say that Hiroe was actually the person that sent the note!

 **Euiko:** Hiroe sent the note? But to who?

 **Narumi:** That's what we're here to figure out.

 **Taro:** Hello? We still haven't established how Hiroe was murdered!

 **Seika:** Hiroe left his room ten minutes before meeting someone…maybe they used the knife and stabbed Hiroe from behind.

 **Taro:** And even then…the killer stabbed Hiroe from behind in the hall and then stuffed him in the closet! How cowardly.

 **Narumi:** No, that's wrong! Hiroe wasn't just stabbed in the hallway and put in the janitor's closet.

 **Taro:** He wasn't? Then where are you suggesting he was killed?

 **Narumi:** He was actually killed in the greenhouse!

 **Hirokuma:** In the greenhouse? Why of all places would he do it there?

 **Narumi:** Because that's where Hiroe went to meet the killer. And if my guess is correct, then I'd have to say that the killer only arrived at the greenhouse on or after 4 am!

 **Tomoe:** I'm sorry, but that's not right.

 **Narumi:** Huh?

 **Tomoe:** If the killer met Hiroe in the greenhouse, and if what you're saying IS true, and he killed him there…how come there is no dirt on his clothes?

 **Narumi:** What do you mean?

 **Tomoe:** Listen closely! If I were directing a horror movie. And we got to the scene where someone was going to be killed in a room filled with plants, wouldn't the victim have some form of dirt or grime on his clothes that would show he was thrown on the dirt? You're not even suggesting that there was even a hint of a struggle!

 **Narumi:** No, that's wrong! I get where you're going, Tomoe. But the fact of the matter is that there was a struggle! If you even step foot inside the greenhouse, you would be able to see that for yourself. Tables were turned over, pots were smashed, dirt was all over the floor, even the bookshelf on the back wall was tipped over. I do think the murder happened in the greenhouse, and I do think that there was a struggle in there.

 **Naomi:** I can't accept that.

 **Narumi:** What do you mean, Naomi?

 **Naomi:** I mean that you're overlooking a fact that we spotted earlier in the greenhouse. In fact, YOU were the one that noticed it. If you hadn't said anything, I would have overlooked it all together.

 **Narumi:** You don't mean, the bloodstain on the dirt, right?

 **Naomi:** Exactly. You're saying that there was a struggle in the greenhouse that led to Hiroe's death. What if I told you that it could have been set up?

 **Narumi:** Set up? What are you getting at?

 **Naomi:** If you remember the state of the floor, then you should remember that the blood had seeped into the dirt and made it clumpy. That means that the dirt was already on the floor before Hiroe even stepped foot inside the greenhouse.

 **Setsuko:** Then what you're saying is…

 **Naomi:** Narumi's earlier assertion about the killer being there on or after 4 am was wrong. In fact…the killer was there at least an hour before it happened!

 **Kazuma:** Oh, come on! How do you speculate that much?

 **Naomi:** Think about it this way. If the killer was going to meet up with Hiroe and intended to kill him, do you think he would do it so easily? No, no, no, no. This killer was a very sadistic fuck.

 **Hirokuma:** What do you mean by that?

 **Naomi:** The killer trashed the greenhouse.

 **Narumi:** What?! But that would break Hiroe's heart to see all the plants like that!

 **Naomi:** Exactly, it would make it harder for Hiroe to run away or fight if the plants he loved were now on their way to becoming trash worthy. You must know that most of those plants and flowers were foreign. A single one of those would go a long way when it comes to selling the seeds here in Japan.

 **Hirokuma:** So, you're saying that the killer broke Hiroe's spirit to continue on before killing him?

 **Naomi:** Exactly.

 **Taro:** All right, if what you're saying is true…then what was the thing that murdered Hiroe? We have no evidence of anything other than the knife suggesting a different way the Hiroe was killed!

 **Narumi:** No, that's wrong! Hiroe's journal, his life's work, was found hidden under the bookshelf.

 **Hirokuma:** What? Hidden under the bookshelf?

 **Narumi:** And there was a single page ripped out of the notebook that could…no…IS THE MURDER WEAPON!

 **Taro:** Fine, out with it. What was the murder weapon?

 **Narumi:** I've got it! I know exactly how this sounds, but what if Hiroe was killed with a flower?

 **Taro:** A flower? A fucking flower? You've got to be pulling my chain.

 **Naomi:** No, she's right.

 **Taro:** HE WAS KILLED WITH A FUCKING FLOWER?!

 **Narumi:** Not just any flower! The silver-leaf nightshade! From what Naomi said while we were investigating, every single part of the nightshade is incredibly poisonous to human beings. And I'll bet this sucker has thick thorns that can pierce through any flimsy t-shirt like what Hiroe wore.

 **Takumi:** So, the killer pushed Hiroe onto a flower, hoping that the thorn would stick him? That sounds kind of faulty to me.

 **Narumi:** You're right. THAT does sound faulty. So, let's make it less faulty. What's something that we've already discussed that could have helped get the toxins into Hiroe's blood stream?

 **Kyoko:** Ooh! Ooh! I know! I know! It's the knife!

 **Narumi:** Exactly so! The knife had already played its role!

 **Kyoko:** YES! I HELPED!

 **Takumi:** The knife did kill him then. If you're saying that the killer stabbed Hiroe with the knife, then he wouldn't even need a stupid flower to kill him.

 **Narumi:** No, that's wrong! If you look at the wound again, you'll notice exactly just how shallow the stab wound was. If you think about this logically, then the knife was not the culprit. Nor was it able to make such an odd-looking wound.

 **Yuno:** So, the killer surprised Hiroe with the destroyed greenhouse, then stabbed him from behind, and then Hiroe fell on the nightshade?

 **Narumi:** Exactly so! That must be how it went down!

 **Kazuma:** Maybe, so. But you're forgetting one crucial piece of evidence that dictates the position of death!

 **Narumi:** What am I missing?

 **Kazuma:** We found Hiroe in the janitor's closet in the west wing. That means that the killer would've had to have killed Hiroe in front of the closet.

 **Narumi:** That's an easy fix. You see, the killer could have dragged Hiroe's body from the greenhouse to the janitor's closet. THEN the killer threw Hiroe into the closet and shut the door.

 **Euiko:** I'd like to finally be of use!

 **Setsuko:** This is a surprise. I didn't think you'd want to say anything during the trial.

 **Euiko:** I've already said some things! Anyways, I would like to bring everyone's attention to something very important that I found in the trash room in the basement! It's a bloodied blue cloth! And most of it is burnt, except for a small portion!

 **Genjo:** Objection! Are you even sure that the cloth is relevant to this case?

 **Euiko:** I'm sorry! I should've thought before I brought it up…

 **Naomi:** Wow, that was odd. But I'd expect nothing less of the Ultimate Lawyer…wait…

 **Genjo:** Even if what you're saying is true, Narumi, then how come we didn't find a blood trail leading from the greenhouse to the closet?

 **Setsuko:** Are you an idiot? Let me tell you exactly where we found Hiroe. In the custodial closet. Janitor's. If my insertion is correct, then we can assume that the killer used the mop and bucket to clean up any unneeded stains and spills!

 **Narumi:** That sounds right to me.

 **Genjo:** Alright, that's all well and good. But answer this: What is the killer's motive? Why did he kill Hiroe? Did he have some sort of grudge against him? There's no motive!

 **Narumi:** No, that's wrong! Back a couple nights ago, Monokuma gave us motives that would get us killing each other. Something from our past that we regret, I'll bet.

 **Euiko:** Yeah, I remember reading mine. It was so horrible! I'm surprised Monokuma even knows what I did for that guitar! Ah! I've said too much!

 **Narumi:** If what my letter said was like everyone else's, then it was something we don't want anyone to see. I'll bet cash money that Hiroe found out what the killer's motive was, so the killer had no choice but to kill Hiroe!

 **Genjo:** Objection! You're assuming that Hiroe found out what the killer's letter was. It could have been anything! Any possible solution or outcome is going down right now. You've got no evidence or proof that the killer's letter had been leaked!

 **Euiko:** You've got that wrong! When I was sorting through the clothes in the laundry room, I actually found a balled-up piece of paper that didn't make any sense to me. I thought it was like a diary entry, so I naturally just put it back where I had found it.

 **Genjo:** Oh, yes? And would you mind telling us what this entry said?

 **Yuno:** Genjo, cool down! You're getting mad at Euiko! That's not nice, she hasn't done anything but help us.

 **Euiko:** T-The entry said: I want to discuss the motive, but I want to do it in secret.

 **Genjo:**!

 **Setsuko:** Euiko?! You had damning evidence like that the entire time and you never told anyone?!

 **Euiko:** I'm sorry! I thought it was rude of me to even look!

 **Seika:** Well, now. I think we've heard enough. The killer is so obviously Genjo!

 **Narumi:** Seika, why do you say that?

 **Seika:** He keeps volleying the trial back at all of us! We're stuck in eternal deuce!

 **Genjo:** Can you prove I did it, Seika?!

 **Seika:** Well, no, I can't…

 **Genjo:** Then don't accuse someone unless you have evidence!

 **Naomi:** It's not Genjo. That I am sure of.

 **Genjo:** See? Even the detective lady thinks so.

 **Naomi:** But he's protecting the identity of the killer!

 **Narumi:** Genjo's doing WHAT?!

 **Genjo:** Why would you even suggest that I do such a thing!

 **Naomi:** Aside from the fact that you're not contributing anything useful to the trial, you are also sending us around in circles and attacking anyone who has important pieces of evidence. I say we look back at that cloth, Euiko.

 **Euiko:** Oh, sure thing. Here. The bloodied blue cloth.

 **Naomi:** Now, if I'm right on this. Then that means that the killer wasn't out of this entire situation clean.

 **Tomoe:** And how do you suggest that?

 **Naomi:** I'd like to point out both the correlation between the bloodied cloth and the clumpy dirt. I don't think the blood in the dirt is Hiroe's blood!

 **Taro:** What are you saying?

 **Naomi:** And if we bring the knife into the mix, you'll notice just how odd the knife looks. It's not your ordinary knife, it's…

 **Setsuko:** It's a knife used for gardening!

 **Naomi:** Precisely.

 **Genjo:** So, you're saying the killer trashed the greenhouse, surprised Hiroe, then Hiroe attacked him?! How absurd!

 **Naomi:** But not out of question. Instead of thinking about this from a "it crushed Hiroe's soul" let's think of this from a "Hiroe retaliated in an unexpected way" angle!

 **Narumi:** Unexpected? That means that the killer let their guard down because they thought that Hiroe's soul would have been crushed, but instead it made Hiroe furious!

 **Naomi:** And because Hiroe was furious, he grabbed the nearest thing, AKA the gardening knife, and stabbed the killer.

 **Genjo:** No, no, no! I refuse to believe that happened!

 **Narumi:** This should prove it! Hiroe loved his plants more than anything. He loved it more than other people! There's no doubt that the Ultimate Botanist would allow such a disaster to go unpunished! And since that, he attacked the killer who turned it all on him.

 **Tomoe:** But for the killer to do that, they'd have to be very strong.

 **Narumi:** Which leads me to believe that the killer is Hirokuma Kikutake!

 **Genjo:** Okay? So? You've accused him! Where's your proof!

 **Narumi:** Let me make this clear so that you will finally understand, Genjo! The killer wanted to meet Hiroe in the greenhouse to discuss the motive that Hiroe found out. Since the killer wanted his letter to be kept completely secret, he decided that the best thing to do would be to destroy Hiroe's soul so that Hiroe wouldn't ever think of telling anyone, but the killer didn't expect Hiroe to take the destruction of the greenhouse as a fuel of retaliation. And because of that, Hiroe was able to land a single blow on the killer. However, since the killer was stronger than Hiroe, he was able to take the knife from Hiroe and stab him once in the chest. But the killer didn't want to kill Hiroe, but they made a fatal mistake. And that mistake was allowing Hiroe to fall. Hiroe's fall bumped his head against a table edge which sent him off course. After which, Hiroe landed on an area of the greenhouse that didn't have dirt under it yet – the bookshelf. And under the bookshelf was a specimen of silver-leaf nightshade! Noticing that Hiroe wasn't getting up, the killer took the body from the greenhouse and dragged him into a different place in the building. Since he made a mess, he took stuff from the custodial closet and cleaned up all the dirt and blood that Hiroe and the killer made. After finishing up, the killer tore some of his blue shirt and tied it around his wound. Shortly after, he dressed it and threw the cloth into the incinerator in the trash room to get rid of the evidence. However, he made minor errors that led to big issues. His first error was allowing Hiroe to fall. After he had fallen, he was able to get a piece of his notebook out from under the bookshelf, tear it off and stuff it in his pocket. His second error was tearing the note in half. After Euiko was able to find it, it spelled doom for the entire operation. Isn't that right, Hirokuma?!

 **Hirokuma:**...

 **Narumi:** Anything to add or take away, Genjo.

 **Genjo:** …

 **Hirokuma:** Wait. You didn't tell it right.

 **Narumi:** Huh?

 **Hirokuma:** I was wounded on my left arm. I tied the cloth around my left arm where it wouldn't be noticed. The wound is still there. You're right about Hiroe retaliating, you're right about the state of the greenhouse, but the hole in your logic was about Hiroe falling…he didn't.

 **Narumi:** What?

 **Hirokuma:** He hit his head on the table, but he didn't fall over. He stood straight back up, then threw the bookshelf down. I didn't know what he had done, but he already had the page in his pocket. He fell over on a table and that's where the flower got him. I didn't mean for him to die. He just…knew too much.

 **Narumi:** It's over, Hirokuma. But, before we end this, could you tell us what was in your letter?

 **Hirokuma:** …back before I became a marine…I did many regrettable things. One of which was in that letter. My buddies and I, we were ruthless sons of bitches. We stole, we killed, and we felt nothing about it. But one night, we did something more. I didn't take part in what we did to her, but it was still horrible nonetheless. They took advantage of the fact that her children were unable to fight. They knocked both of the kids out within seconds and then they…took advantage of her. I had no idea what they were planning and I didn't know it would be so awful. I only killed her. I put her out of her misery. I didn't want to let them do it any longer, but I didn't want to be on their bad sides either. I was loyal. I had the faith of being a marine in my blood.

 **Yuno:** That's so…horrible!

 **Hirokuma:** Isn't it? Well, little known fact. One of her kids wasn't younger than me. He only looked like it. I didn't know until last night that Hiroe's Mom was both raped and murdered by my group. Hiroe…Hiroe only wanted to do something. This was the thing I didn't expect. It wasn't Hiroe's retaliation. Hiroe didn't even want to retaliate. He didn't! Hiroe wanted to meet with me in private and tell me…that he forgave me. He forgave me for what I had done! I had ruined his family's life! I took all of that away and he was willing to forgive me!? And now…I just keep taking from the Ohishi family.

 **Seika:** Hiro…kuma…

 **Monokuma:** Yes, yes. Quite a tragic tale. Well, now, if everyone's all done we have to finish up this trial! Please pull the lever in front of you to cast your vote. Who will you choose? The right one, or the dreadfully wrong one!

After everyone had voted, a panel behind half of the class opened up to reveal a television screen. In slot machine style, the three bars rolled and rolled until they landed on Hirokuma. Afterwards, the screen displayed a big flashing VICTORY sign.

"Hoo, boy! You guys are on fire! You got it right! Hirokuma Kikutake killed Hiroe Ohishi!" Monokuma laughed loudly. Nobody else was laughing.

"Answer me this, Hirokuma. Why was Genjo defending you?" Naomi demanded.

"Because I asked him. I asked Genjo if he would protect me if blame came my way. I needed to do something and I didn't want to die yet. Genjo didn't know that I was the killer." Hirokuma looked at his feet. "I'm so sorry for everything I've done. There's nothing that I can do to take it back."

"Well, now. Let's stop with this sentimental stuff! It's boring me to tears!" Monokuma shrieked.

"Huh?" Seika gasped. "How can you say something like that?"

"Because it's time for the big finale for Hirokuma! Thrills! Chills! Kills! I have a special punishment in store for you!" Monokuma laughed.

"What's going on?!" Narumi shouted at Monokuma.

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's punishment time!" Monokuma grabbed his gavel and hit the button next to his throne. The television screen now showed an 8-bit version of Monokuma and Hirokuma saying: Hirokuma has been found guilty! Time for the punishment!

Suddenly, the metal door at another part of the court opened and seven Monokumas marched out and handcuffed Hirokuma. Then they led him through the door. Outside the door, all the Monokumas shoved Hirokuma onto a big ship and tied him to a wall. He looked at all of them and closed his eyes. A title card appeared on the screen saying "21 Shotgun Sa-shoot!" The Monokumas all grabbed a rifle with a bayonet and stood in front of Hirokuma. He didn't even appear scared. Another Monokuma with a whistle stood to the side and held his hand in the air. Whistle! All the Monokumas shot at Hirokuma. Whistle! All the Monokumas shot at Hirokuma again. Whistle! All the Monokumas shot at Hirokuma a third time. Whistle! The Monokumas rushed up and jabbed their bayonets into Hirokuma's body. Blood poured out from the gunshot wounds and the bayonet stabs. His eyes began to flutter, but Hirokuma smiled. Finally, he let his head hang down as his life ended.

"Now, wasn't that exciting?!" Monokuma laughed heartily. "What an excellent display of judgement!"

Everyone was in shock of what they had seen. No words could describe what kind of horror they were all feeling. It was all too surreal.

"You're probably all still wondering what Hirokuma desperately needed to go do. You see, there's this lovely place of his that was going to be foreclosed by the bank. He needed to get home and make sure that the bank didn't take away his grandparent's shop." Monokuma laughed. "Like that matters anymore!"

"You're despicable." Narumi grumbled.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" Monokuma acted innocent.

"No matter what happens, I will not fall to you." Narumi looked at Monokuma with a fire in her eyes. "Listen to what I say! This is not a game to us! We will stop you, you horrible creature!"

"Please, lady. You're gonna need harsher insults if you want to phase me." Monokuma's eyes glinted.

"Monokuma, you're without a doubt, the single worst thing to ever exist. To take such pleasure from all our pain? You're worse than Satan himself!"

"Hey, hey! Your spirits are supposed to be broken! Where is this sense of justice coming from?"

"Don't forget my words, Monokuma. I will end you!"

"Is that so? We'll have to see about that one day." And with that, Monokuma was gone. He left all of them alone in the court room. Nobody spoke. Nobody dared to say a word. Two of their new friends were gone, no words could help. No words could stop that disaster.

 **Chapter 1 End**

 **Remaining: 14 Students**

 **To be continued…**


End file.
